His dad's advice: My father taught me to treat my equipment right. When I was young I raced motorcycles. One day I laid my bike down. I got so mad I kicked it. Dad came over and told me to pick up my bike. It wasn't the bike's fault that I had had a bad day. That lesson stuck with me. I have control over my performance; the car is what it is.

His dad's advice: Dad's part Native American, and when we'd go camping on our ranch he liked building tepees. We'd find three long, narrow, sturdy logs and make a tripod by tying them together at the top with good, strong rope; then we'd wrap canvas around it. The hole at the top can serve as a chimney, and it helps air circulate inside.

His dad's advice: My dad was never big on sit-down advice sessions, but he certainly popped out some nuggets. My favorite is, Today is the youngest you will ever be; live like it. Another piece of advice he gave me when I was no more than 10: "In this family we believe that everyone is on equal footing. We don't call people names, and we treat everyone the same." Hopefully, I can pass on the same level of wisdom to my kids.

Mike Tyson, 46, boxer, former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world

His dad's advice: During training, when you have to do things over and over until you're in pain, deep in your mind you say, God, I don't want to do this no more. I felt like a coward for thinking this way. But my trainer, Cus D'Amato, was there when I needed him. He was a dad to me. Cus would explain that you should always do things that build your character and make you a better individual.

His dad's advice: My dad took my brother and me fishing all the time—seemed like we'd go every weekend. Dad taught me how to cast the rod. Mine had a simple spinning reel. Pull back the bail, hold the line against the rod with your index finger, reach back, and then let it fly. The arm motion is almost like you're throwing a baseball.

His dad's advice: When I was 7 or so, my father made me a fiberglass race car for my teddy bear, Gus. He hand-built it with polyester resin. It was a natural thing for a kid to ask his dad: "I want a race car for my teddy bear, Gus." In retrospect, I know that my parents were struggling financially at that point. It was a huge thing for him to have done, both as wish fulfillment, but also as a demonstration that you could think a thing and make it happen.

His dad's advice: My father, a WWII U.S. Navy officer, taught me that a leader is responsible for the welfare of people under his or her care. I relied on this when I set US Airways Flight 1549 down in the Hudson River with no casualties. But there were many more lessons from Dad. In the late 1940s, he and my mom bought a plot of land and built a small house. Every few years we would add on to it. My dad gave my sister and me each a hammer. We learned to swing those—and later to do electrical, plumbing, masonry, and roofing. The family ended up with a big ranch-style home, and I ended up with a set of building skills.

His dad's advice: What I got from Dad was a set of principles. For him family, patriotism, and courage were everything. When our country, now Croatia, became part of Yugoslavia in WWII, he spent time in a refugee camp. When he got out, he could have stayed and put up with the Communist way of life. But with our future in mind, he emigrated with us to the United States. When I look back at that and think of the opportunities it created for me, that's much more admirable than anything I ever accomplished as a driver.

His dad's advice: My father, Charles Joseph Koch Jr., was a brewmaster for years until he saw demand waning for full-flavored beers. So in 1984, when I told him I wanted to start a brewery, he thought I was crazy—even though there were five generations of German brewmasters in my family. Once Dad got over his hesitation, he took me to the attic and opened the trunk with the family beer archives. He pulled out a yellowed piece of paper with my great-great-grandfather's recipe for Louis Koch Lager. Today, that beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager.